Bahrain’s king Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has set up a legal panel to investigate the crackdown on protests in which more than 30 died earlier this year. Activists have greeted the panel with skepticism, not surprisingly in light of the Bahraini government’s harsh treatment of protesters, a number of whom have been sentenced to life in prison , or sentenced to death . There have also been numerous reports of beatings and torture, including of some of the stars of the Bahraini national football team . Those detained have been allowed minimal contact with their families. Doctors, nurses and medical professionals have been charged with the equivalent of treason for treating injured protesters at a hospital in Manama, Bahrain’s capital. The king said that he had consulted with the UN high commissioner for Human Rights about the legal panel, says the Guardian . It will be a “comp...